Kuang Jin froze for a moment. "Now?"
"Yes. Switch to real blades now, and use your full strength."
Senior Brother Xia Xi's tone was calm, but hearing it made Kuang Jin's calves feel a little weak.
He had heard far too much about Xia Xi's fearsome reputation.
Now that he actually had to fight his senior brother, he instinctively lost half his nerve.
Makomo, beside him, only thought for a moment before briskly drawing her Nichirin Blade.
"Idiot Kuang Jin, if you're not going, I'll go alone."
"I am! Of course I am!"
Spurred on by Makomo, Kuang Jin hurriedly answered.
The two children activated their respective Breathing Styles and charged at Xia Xi from either side.
Kuang Jin fought in the most conventional head-on fashion.
Yet despite using Wind Breathing, he did not launch fierce, powerful attacks.
Instead, his approach leaned toward steady defense, rather like Stone Breathing and Water Breathing.
Just the sort of standard routine most swordsmen use... wait, could it be because he's afraid of me?
He's considerably more conservative than I expected.
Makomo, on the other side, was completely different.
Her Water Breathing was particularly nimble and elusive.
And Mount Sagiri's fighting style was very apparent.
She favored footwork and high-speed movement to disrupt her opponent's rhythm.
Then she seized a crucial opening to slip in and deliver a fatal blow.
Hmm... she also likes using [Third Form: Plum Candy].
Her strength was a little below that of swordsmen at the same level.
But her attacks were clearly more frequent, and she relied more heavily on sword techniques.
In that respect, she was quite different from her senior brothers, Sabito and Giyu.
Clang!
Xia Xi easily deflected a thrust from Makomo with the Fist Armor on the back of his hand.
Then he tilted his